CALA

Collaborative Access For LGBT Adults

The Collaborative Access for LGBT Adults (CALA) is a program funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to develop and integrate team-based behavioral health services within Columbia Doctors Nurse Practitioner Group Primary Care Practice located in Washington Heights. The program offers a full array of behavioral health services including individual psychotherapy and medication management through a team of providers who are skilled in LGBT culturally competent care

Social Convoys

SOCIAL CONVOYS AND SUCCESSFUL AGING AMONG LESBIAN AND GAY OLDER ADULT

Walter Bockting, PhD

The first generation of openly LGBT-identified people is entering later life, yet little is known about their needs for care and support or about the nature of the social support available and utilized by lesbian and gay elders. The goal of this two-year pilot study is to begin an in-depth examination of the social support and caregiving networks of lesbian and gay older adults to better understand their needs, as well as to illuminate the role of selective kin or families of choice and other supports in successful aging potentially relevant to other populations. This examination will be guided by the Convoy Model, according to which social relationships (or "convoys") are shaped over time and vary in their closeness, quality, function, and structure. Convoys are influenced by personal and situational characteristics, and affect health. We are systematically assessing the social convoys of lesbian and gay older adults using a well-established standardized tool, and compare these convoys to those of heterosexual controls. In addition to advancing knowledge about the role of kinship and social support in successful aging, findings will inform the development of interventions to reduce health disparities and promote quality of life among lesbian/gay and other elders.